Barroso calls on EU to do more to cut poverty

José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission’s president, has called on EU member states to set out clear timetables for achieving their commitments to increase development aid contributions, amid fears from aid organisations that countries are not doing enough to help the developing world.

Speaking at this week’s G8 summit of world leaders in Japan, Barroso said the EU must “do better” to help the world’s poorest people tackle global poverty. At a G8 summit in Gleneagles in 2005, the EU promised to reach a development spending target – Millenium Development Goals (MGDs) – of 0.56% of gross national income (GNI) by 2010 and 0.7% by 2015. Under these targets, by 2010 the EU would be contributing €66 billion to the developing world each year.

Oxfam, an aid organisation, said they remained “fearful” that G8 countries, including the EU, would fail to honour their MGD commitments. Germany was the only G8 country to give more aid in 2007 than in 2006, the organisation said.

Oxfam also wants to ensure that world leaders meeting at the on-going G8 summit will clearly restate their commitment to MDGs.

Barroso admitted that the EU is “struggling” to meet its aid targets. “I have to acknowledge that this is the wrong signal at the wrong time”, he told a group of African leaders at a meeting held in the margins of the G8 summit in Toyako, Japan on 7 July.

Over half of the EU’s target will be allocated to Africa, Barroso said, adding that the EU is “on track” to provide 90% of a pledge to allocate €25 billion to the continent by 2010 made by world leaders at the Gleneagles G8 summit in 2005.

Such a boost in aid spending could send an extra 25 million children to primary school, or save 4 million more children’s lives each year by providing universal access to reproductive health, Barroso said.